Josiah al hajj Saddiq (Earth-616)
Real Name: Josiah Bradley, Josiah X, Josiah al hajj Saddiq Nicknames: None Former Aliases: None Other Current Aliases: None =Status= Occupation: Muslim minister Legal Status: Identity: Secret Marital Status: Single Known Relatives: Isiah Bradley (father), Faith Bradley (mother), Eli Bradley (nephew) Group Affiliation: The Crew =Origin= Josiah was born to parents Faith and Isaiah Bradley via surrogate mother. Given that his father was one of the very first test subjects in the United State's covert super-soldier program, Josiah has inherited the super-soldier serum. Place of Birth: Harlem, New York First Appearance: Unknown =History= Josiah is the son of Isiah Bradley, an African American soldier who was used as a guinea pig in secret, illegal and immoral U.S. experiments to re-create the Super-Soldier process which created Captain America (see notes). Of the hundreds of African American men experimented on, only three survived, Isiah among them. Josiah's surrogate mother put him on a train rather than have him be used by the government. Josiah grew up in a Catholic school, however after lashing out at one of his nuns he fled. Josiah believed he had killed her, however much later on he encountered her at the school and she forgave him. During the Vietnam War, Josiah enlisted. After his unit was nearly killed on a missionby an inconsiderate and racist officer's order to bomb the area, he punched the officer, was court martialed, and sent back to the States. While imprisoned, blood tests proved he was the missing child and the only known subject that had survived. His surrogate mother again helped him escape and told him where to find his real parents. Josiah turned to the Islamic faith to find purpose. He became involved with The Crew after they were lead to his location due to a plant. He reluctantly joined the others to fight those who had framed him and turned his neighborhood into a virtual war zone, using the equipment his father had many years ago. =Characteristics= Height: Unknown Weight: Unknown Eyes: Brown Hair: Black =Powers= Strength Level: Super soldier strength Abilities: Weapons: a triangular shield once used by his father. It is unknown if this shield is Adamantium or a steel replica of the original. Equipment: Josiah wears a mail shirt similar to the uniform of Captain America. ---- =Notes= *Since the series cancellation of The Crew, Josiah has been in a state of character limbo. All references to his existence have been kept rather quiet. Nephew Eli Bradley of the Young Avengers has to this date not made contact or mention of his uncle. * Josiah X (Justice) should not be confused with Vance Astrovik (also known as Justice) or John Tensen (originally of the New Universe, and later of 2099A.D., also known as Justice), both of whom pre-date him in Marvel comics. * Before anyone comments on the history statement that Isiah Bradley was a victim of experiments to RE-create the Super Soldier serum, please note: (1) Prior to the start of the experiments, one of the soldiers in "The Truth" was seen reading Captain America #1. (2) The story in "The Truth" was set after Pearl Harbor; Steve Rogers became Captain America before Pearl Harbor. (3) The final issue confirms that Steve Rogers pre-dates the experiments on the African American soldiers. (4) The presence of "Professor Erskine", who dies when Steve Rogers becomes Captain America, at the experiments on Isiah Bradley, does not disprove this, as "Erskine" was a codename, and thus could easily apply to more than one person. None of this lessens the fact that the U.S. military committed atrocities on African American troops while attempting to create Super Soldiers. Trivia *According to Priest, series writer for The Crew, Josiah is based largely on the Denzel Washington character seen in the film, Training Day. ---- Related Articles *The Crew *Captain America ---- External links *DigitalPriest.com: The Crew: Justice ----